Rangers' Emmanuel Fernandez sends one-word Thelo Aasgaard message after Norway pledge

Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez is clearly still close with Thelo Aasgaard.

The 24-year-old attacking midfielder departed Ibrox on loan this summer, signing for Anderlecht.

Joining them initially for the 2026-27 season, the Belgian giants do have the option to make Aasgaard's move a permanent one.

However, after failing to register a goal contribution from his first three games for them, that perhaps seems unlikely at this stage.

Aasgaard remains part of Norway manager Stale Solbakken's plans though, and has been part of the squad to open their Nations League campaign.

The break has now ended for them, and the Rangers man has offered a glimpse into his mindset after Norway's first four games.

What did Emmanuel Fernandez say to Thelo Aasgaard?

Norway brought their first Nations League break to a close on Sunday night.

They travelled to Porto to take on Portugal, in what presented a huge test for Solbakken's side.

Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the first half, Jorge Jesus' men eventually saw their quality show, running out 2-1 winners in the end.

Aasgaard took to his Instagram account on Monday to mark the end of his most recent Norway camp.

"Eyes forward," he said, captioning this pledge with a series of six images from across these last few weeks with his national side.

In the replies underneath the post, Rangers star centre-back Fernandez still evidently rates Aasgaard highly.

"HIM!" The Nigerian wrote, whilst fellow Gers players Youssef Chermiti, Tuur Rommens, Connor Barron, Ross McCrorie and Findlay Curtis all liked Aasgaard's post.

'Him' is modern slang and refers to someone being exceptionally skilled in their field.

So, how has the Gers loanee fared with Norway during this break, and will it send a strong message back to Anderlecht and Ibrox?

How many minutes did Aasgaard play for Norway in the break?

As aforementioned, Norway, as every other Nations League team has/will do, played their first four group stage games during this break.

He entered it having won nine caps for Norway at senior level, and he ends it now holding 12.

But his opportunities to impress came at a premium, with his biggest chance coming against Wales in which he played 45 minutes.

Aside from that, he was afforded a mere three minutes against Portugal on Sunday and 24 minutes in the opening match with Denmark on 24 September.

All three of these outings came via the bench too, and he failed to provide a single goal contribution from any of them.

So, the grass certainly hasn't been greener for Aasgaard since leaving Govan, both for club and country.